Coinbase launches wallet API to help integrate Web 2.0 devs into web3 world

Coinbase, the second largest crypto exchange by trading volume, has launched a new product to help onboard developers into web3, the company shared with TechCrunch on Wednesday.

It should be easier to go to a website or engage with a brand without having to leave their platform, Will Robinson, VP of engineering at Coinbase, said to TechCrunch. “We should allow people to onboard into web3, right there, so they’re truly in control of their assets in a contained experience.”

Coinbase’s wallet as a service (WaaS) is a scalable set of wallet infrastructure APIs that allow companies to create and deploy customizable on-chain wallets to their users. This means companies can natively integrate wallets directly into their apps so users won’t be redirected to separate applications to connect their wallets (like most web3 dApps today require).

“The current onboarding flow is sort of backwards for most regular people,” Robinson said. “At first, for some reason you need a crypto asset, then you should get a wallet 'cause someone told you to, then you have to find something to do with that wallet.”

Yet, that flow is something “people fall out of very often,” Robinson added. “But, if you invert that, what people really want is to use an application and engage with a brand. That’s the desire they start out with.”